


Whispers and Wings

by Spyrofury767



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Body Horror, Everyone just wants to be happy, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Torture, Raven's one fucked up little dragon, Superboy needs a hug, and i love him, oc inclusion, robin is adorable, starts in season one, superboy needs to be loved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-22 06:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8275723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spyrofury767/pseuds/Spyrofury767
Summary: Zenax Labs seemed like a nice enough place.A shiny white exterior masked a torture chamber below ground. The team was dropped into a hornet's nest, and a tormented 15 year old is in the middle of it.





	1. The New Mission

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a random idea in my head and is now almost 10000 words in the first two chapters. So I posted it.
> 
> Let me know if anything's OOC or I got the Zeta Labels wrong.
> 
> Thanks guys.

They finished measuring the scales, her slitted white eyes watching their every movement. 

 

“Alright, we’re done preparations. Strap her in.” The familiar, dark voice purred as the men in the white masks leaned her back on the black body-board, preparing to strap her in.

 

She, however, had enough of their treatment long ago. 

 

The two men tied her feet and right wrist, just as she was planning how to run. She’d be quick. They’d never see it. 

 

The older one leaned over her body to grab the strap that went over her stomach, and she moved. 

 

Her left elbow shot up, hitting the man in the jaw, making his head snap back so fast she probably gave him whiplash. The younger person at her feet took a step away in shock, but he had left her long, dexterous tail free. She whipped the tip under the half-locked restraint on her right foot, releasing it and bringing the clawed, double jointed dragon leg up, into his chin, observing as he crumpled like a folding chair. 

 

She quickly used her free hand to unlock her other hand and foot, stretching out her wings carefully. With a shake of her head, she spun around, kicking down the door before sprinting away, aiming to hide.

 

Raven Kialla was her human name, the name she once had.

 

Ghost the Half Dragon was her name now. 

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

**_Six Months Later_ **

 

Kid Flash instantly withdrew his attacking when Robin broke off to the side, hacking up a lung.

 

“Rob, you ok?” He asked, slightly concerned for his best friend. 

 

Robin leaned against a wall, putting up one finger in the universal ‘wait’ symbol as he relearned how to breathe. 

 

“Ow, ow…” He muttered under his breath, lungs greedily sucking in oxygen. “Ow. Ok, wow, not feeling the aster.” He placed a hand on his sternum, rubbing at it for a brief second before straightening. “Yeowch…”

 

“You sound like shiiiii-crap!” Wally dragged out the ‘I’ when Black Canary glared at him. 

 

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Robin gasped through his coughing. He shook his head violently, and stretched backward. 

 

Black Canary tapped something on a screen, and words appeared above the battlefield. 

 

TIE

 

“Aw, come on Canary.” Wally grumbled, looking briefly at the screen.

 

“Robin is breathing poorly enough to pass out in this training session.” The boy wonder himself let out an angry growl while the others by the side gave a small collective giggle. 

 

“So I can’t train?” Robin narrowed his eyes, obviously ready to tear someone a new asshole if he wasn't so damn respectful. 

 

“No, Robin. Sorry.” Black Canary looked sympathetic at the youngest team member, who angrily ripped off the red headband that had been holding back his spiky raven fringe, and threw it as hard as one throws a loose band of fabric. The round headband hooked neatly on the corner of a chair, spinning a few times on one of the small spokes at the corner, before settling against the back of the chair as Robin stomped out of the room, fists clenched and shoulders high, head sunk into his neck in fury.

 

“He-” Artemis began, but was cut off by a slamming door and a small, gravelly yowl of pure rage. “...He takes his training awfully serious doesn’t he?” She looked a cross between concerned and impressed.

 

“Naw, he’s always been really twitchy when he's feeling sick. He doesn't wanna seem weak. Of course, I can’t help it near you, beautiful.” Wally flicked an eyebrow in her general direction. Artemis rolled her eyes. 

 

“Well, what’s wrong with him?” Conner asked, a semi-state of concern appearing on his brow.

 

“He’s feeling a little sick.” Wally shrugged. “No biggie. He’s jus’ a little off.” 

 

“...’Sick’?” Conner asked after a small pause.

 

Wally facepalmed lightly, looking about three seconds from laughing and/or cringing. “When a human contracts a virus. They can be a little ill looking, and will often act strangely.” Kaldur glanced down the hall where Robin had vanished, noting the boy wonder’s soft sniffles from his room.

 

“Yeah, Robby’s way off. Not feeling great. And when he doesn’t feel great, well, his emotions tend to be…” Wally fell off, grimacing slightly.

 

“A bit of a shitstorm.” Black Canary finished with a smile.

 

M’gann and Conner blinked in surprise at the new word, not entirely comprehending swear words. “‘Shit-storm?’” Megan asked. “What does ‘shit’ mean?”

 

Artemis, who had been by the side with a glass of water, whipped around and did a spit take into the sink, then leaning over the cold metal, trying to hold in her laughter.

 

Kaldur’s eyes crinkled in amusement, lips tightening even as he smiled, as if he was forcibly keeping down his laughter.

 

Wally didn’t even bother to try, opting to instead burst out into hyena-esque howls of amusement, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees. 

 

Conner and M’gann looked incredibly confused, just as the computer announced the arrival of Batman, Flash, Martian Manhunter and ‘Speedy’.

 

“For the last damn time, it’s ‘Red Arrow’!” Roy shook a fist at the roof. M’gann flew across the room to J’ohn. 

 

“Uncle, what does ‘shit’ mean?” She asked innocently. J’ohn looked horrified and Flash slapped a hand across his mouth in an attempt to not laugh. Roy gave a light chuckle, and Batman raised an eyebrow, glaring at Wally. KF shuddered. It wasn’t a Bat-glare (Patent pending) but it was still Batman glaring at you.

 

“And while we’re on that subject, what does ‘damn’ mean, Roy?” Conner requested, flicking a glance at the older boy.

 

“...Both of those words are inappropriate and whoever taught you them will be punished.” Batman said coldly, and Black Canary blushed badly. 

 

“She did it!” Artemis, Wally and Kaldur said at the same time, pointing directly at Black Canary. 

 

“Oh come on…” Black Canary muttered. “Sell me out so quick you bunch?”

 

“As if you wouldn’t’ve done the same.” Wally responded. 

 

“Touché.” Canary tipped her head in his direction. “Yes, Batman, I did say ‘shitstorm’ in front of the children.”

 

His eyes narrowed. “In what regard?”

 

“Discussing Robin’s emotional state while he’s sick.” Canary answered. 

 

Internally, Batman winced. He had dealt plenty with Dick while sick, and ‘shitstorm’ described his protoge’s emotional disposition while ill perfectly. “...We’ll be discussing this later.” The voice was less icy than they had all expected, but still pretty cold. “Where is Robin now?”

 

“In his room, sulking because I kicked him out of practice for just about passing out from a coughing fit.” Canary rolled her eyes slightly, nodding to the hallway where Robin had stormed off to. 

 

“...I’ll be right back.” Batman handed a case folder to a now-recovered from laughing Flash, who took it and placed it on the computer desk as the bat vanished down the hallway.

 

“So what do we have now?” Wally asked, peeking over his shoulder at the case file. Everyone else crowded around, curious.

 

“A new, covert mission. A biology lab, Zenax Operations, called us the other day to track down a missing subject.” Flash began. “We did some investigations on the lab, and to be honest? We fear this could be another Cadmus.” He drummed his fingers on the rough tan-yellow card stock of the file folder as Batman reemerged with Robin in tow. Conner winced when Flash mentioned Cadmus. Robin wordlessly lined up with the others, all of whom prepared for assignment. 

 

“Alright.” Batman began. “This is section one of a probably multi-mission assignment. We’ll have two teams. Kid Flash, Robin, and Miss Martian.” All three stepped forward. “You are on the underground mission, investigate the unregistered, unlabeled lower floors of the building.” The trio nodded. “Artemis, Superboy, Aqualad, Red Arrow…” The four stepped forward, but not without a few strange looks thrown in Roy’s direction first.

 

“I’m coming in this investigation, calm down about it.” He snapped.

 

“You four are doing the above-ground mission. This is the non-cover section of this mission. We requested, just like we did to Cadmus, a tour of their facility. Unlike Cadmus, however, Zenax did grant us a full tour of their entire facility.” Batman said, pulling up a screen that had the research and case notes from the file on it.

 

“This mission will not be easy. They asked us to find an escaped subject, which raised immediate concerns. In order to escape, the subject had to have intelligence.” He waved a hand, flipping to an incomplete bio page of ‘SUBJECT A1A-389, GH037’. “Subject A1A-389, GH037. Or, just Ghost.” Batman gestured at the screen. “So far, all that we know about her is that she is half dragon, half something else.”

 

“Wait, dragon?” Wally interrupted. “Like, as in, fly, breathe fire, steal-princesses-from-castle type dragon?”

 

“Her bio detailed her as a ghost dragon Kid, so probably not.” Flash filled in. “We’re probably looking at ‘peaceful-until-pissed-off’ type here.”

 

Wally nodded, and Batman continued. “Zenax’s lead scientist refused to disclose what her other half was, only saying that she was extremely dangerous and highly volatile. Proceed with caution.” He glared to them. “Assignment begins in 4 hours. Get ready.” He told them, and with a swish of his cape, he turned and walked back to the Zeta tube, followed by J’ohn and Barry.

 

There was a few minutes of waiting before Wally spoke up. “...Well, who wants to play Mario Kart first?” 

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

Four hours later and both teams were in position. 

 

_ Team Alpha is a go. _ Robin said through their mental link.

 

_ Team Beta prepared. _ Aqualad replied easily.

 

_ Confirmation on both sides. Mission is a go. _ Robin replied, and nodded to the invisible Martian and visible speedster by his side.  _ Let’s go. _ The three slipped off the fence, black outfits blending them into the shadows of the late night investigation. Quickly, the ninja, speedster and martian slid into a vent shaft, gliding through the thin tunnel. 

 

It took a few minutes of belly-crawling and M’gann being forced to forego her skirt for a skintight black bodysuit, but it worked. They reached the elevator shaft in record time. 

 

“You are going to be looking for elevator shaft 10B or lower.” Batman’s words echoed in Robin’s head.  _...I swear if there’s even one genomorph down here, I am calling bullshit on Zenax. It’s the Cadmus mission all over again.  _ He thought, mostly to himself, but he did get mental laughter from everyone, loudest from Superboy, hilariously. In the four hours of preparation, Wally and Kaldur had explained swearing and swear words to Conner and M’gann, who had laughed at their own questions afterward.

 

_ Yeah, well, I don’t think Cadmus had a door to X. _ Wally filled in. The three had climbed down the elevator shafts, at which the lowest one was labeled ‘X’. 

 

_ M’gann, how far down are we? _ Robin requested, wiping sweat off his brow. They had to be really deep now. 

 

_ Deep. I don’t have an exact measurement, but judging by the temperature, probably diamond mining level. _ M’gann replied, examining the thick metal door. 

 

_ Alright, let’s get in here. M’gann, can you open it or… _ Robin fell off.

 

_ I can get in. _ She smirked, and wedged her fingers into the thin plates of metal. A very soft grinding purred out as the oiled gears of the elevator door opened slowly. Robin got in first, and helped a terrified Wally, who was clinging to one of the small railings. They had barely closed the door again when M’gann let out a gasp and pressed her hands to her temples.

 

_ M’gann? M’gann?! _ Wally asked frightenedly, grabbing the girl’s hunched shoulders.

 

_ Robin, is everything alright? _ Kaldur asked.

 

_ I don’t know. M’gann, are you ok? _ Robin approached her slowly, looking over his back constantly. 

 

_ I-I’ll be fine. There’s just… A lot of pain down here. _ She rubbed her forehead and winced, then straightened. 

 

_ …What kind of pain. _ Robin slowly thought, eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

 

_ Torture. _ She stated without hesitation.  _ No doubt about it. _

 

_ Oh man, this is so not asterous.  _ Wally groaned silently, and the three began patrolling the area. Anywhere they went, everything felt wrong. More than once did the group have to step over a pool of something suspiciously green-brown or red, rivulets of the liquid tracing through or staining the otherwise pure-white tiles as it leaked out from under a locked door. The whole area had a foreboding air, but it didn't start showing truly until they had gone down hallway 2A. 

 

Then the shit hit the fan. 

 

People. Humans. Teens no older than themselves or younger. All with terrifying, sewed on body parts or inhuman features, grafted onto their bodies like something out of a horror movie. Blood, urine, feces and vomit coated the walls and floor, making the hall reek like Hell itself. They passed several cages where they couldn't tell if the person within was alive or not. 

 

Many were naked, showing off the horrific lacerations and bloody infections all over their bodies, dribbling deep red blood and yellowish-green pus down naked forms. Those that weren’t clung to the ragged shreds of fabric that still hung off their bodies, desperate for warmth. 

 

Siblings cried silently over the unconscious (dead?) bodies of their companions, sweat coating their skinny, exhausted forms. About 6 cages down, Wally threw up, leaning against the floor and violently ejecting whatever the speedster had left for lunch. 

 

_ You want a protein bar? _ Robin asked, barely keeping down his own bile. 

 

_ When we get out of here, I want to shower until I can’t feel my skin, then and only then will I eat. Until then, fuck no. _ Wally’s voice was weak, wavering. 

 

_ Oh my god… _ M’gann whispered, sounding on the verge of tears. 

 

Mutilated wings, superfluous limbs, tails and other growths hung off shriveled human forms like balls and chains, pinning them to this place. 

 

Infected pins, needles, staples and stitches covered their diminutive forms, so thin you could count ribs. The only sounds were the steady drip-drip of fluids from walls or bodies, small, whimpery, tearful whispers to a friend or kin, and the ragged pant of dying breaths.

 

Most faced away from the bars of the cages, which was a good thing to Robin. All the ones whose faces they had seen, while they had been partially human, had seemed almost like they lost whatever spark of life made them, them. They were dull, eyes were cold and unseeing, like who they had been had already died, leaving just this empty shell of surviving flesh. 

 

“Well well well, look who’s here.” A voice purred weakly beside them, letting out a wheezy laugh.

 

All three of the heroes jumped, eyes widening as they twisted to stare at a blond boy. His head was down, leaned against a wall. He was shirtless, grey-red pants (was that actually their color or…) torn off at the knees and shredded from there up. Around his collarbones and arms were small green feathers, shafts broken and torn, bent and snapped like twigs. His bird tail fanned out on the dirty ground, half of it looking cut off. His feet had been cut off, replaced with oversized bird talons.

 

“If it isn’t the boy wonder, the junior speedster and chicky the Martian.” He raised his head slowly, leaning it against the wall. The skin and muscle around his right eye had been torn out, replaced with green scales and a bright red, slitted eye that heavily contrasted his light blue eyes. “...Welcome to hell.”

 

“Who are you?” Wally demanded fearfully. 

 

“Subject A1A-263, P4RR07.” He shrugged, reply too casual.

 

Robin flinched. “N-not your subject name. Real name.” 

 

“I forget my real name. But she called me Thomas.” ‘Thomas’ made a strange facial twitch, almost grimacing.

 

“W-who was ‘she’?” M’gann stuttered, eyes suspiciously wet. 

 

“...Raven.” He said with a grim smile. “The strongest one of any of us. The whole reason I’m still alive.” A sad laugh escaped his parched lips, followed by a small, dry cough. Robin felt his throat itch in sympathy, but he refused to cough, instead pulling out a small, emergency bottle of water from his compartment and rolling it toward the collapsed boy. “Thanks.” He whispered before uncapping it and swallowing it in two gulps.

 

“...Do you remember her subject name?” Robin asked slowly.

 

“A1A-389, GH037. That was her cell.” Thomas raised his hand, pointing behind them, to an empty, darkened cage. The questionably bright lights were probably painful to the eyes if they were looked directly at. The one above this room had been shattered, the LEDs within it torn to pieces. Unlike the rest of the cages, this one was meticulously swept, bloody smears and yellow-brown stains kept to a minimum. Whoever lived in this cage had cared an awful lot. 

 

“We’re looking for her. Can you tell us anything about her?” Robin had switched into business mode, while his friends examined the cell behind them, trying not to look at the floor. 

 

“Yeah, sure. But I need you to do somethin’ first.” He gave a grim smirk.

 

Robin weighed his options.  _ This guy is the only one cognisant, but I don’t trust him. _

 

_ Neither do I. See if there’s something else. _ KF asked quietly.

 

_ Hello Megan! Just ask him! _ Megan said, trying to be happier. 

 

“...What do you want me to do.” Robin’s eyes narrowed slowly.

 

“After I tell you what I know, please, end my suffering. She said she was gonna come back and get us out of here, but I will never get to go back to my family. Please…” Thomas had desperation in his eyes, pain and longing for death so coldly evident in the crystal blue gaze. Robin let out a long breath, and flicked open a pill compartment. 

 

Cyanide pill.

 

Batman gave him one, why? He never said. But he did have one. 

 

Robin weighed the pill in his hand. 

 

“...Tell me what you know. And I’ll give you this.” He growled. 

 

“Done.” He purred, sitting straight up. Wally and M’gann stepped up beside Robin. “Listen close ‘cus I’m only sayin’ what I know once.” He warned. Robin reached to his hip and flicked the recorder on.

 

“Talk.” Robin demanded, and Thomas shook his head with a small laugh.

 

“So impatient. But alright. I'll start.” He shrugged.

 

“She was seven when she came. Nearly eight.”

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

The Parrot stood up, the new ligaments and tendons in his feet screaming in protest, feathers flicking curiously in response to the new noises. 

 

However, not even the pain in his feet matched the absolute vitriol, raging, flame-spitting rage of the relatively tall-for-her-appearing-age redhead that was taking four adult men to drag to a cage. She was skinny, lithe and quick, and would obviously make a great fighter, if the absolute hatred in her fiery blue eyes was anything to judge from. She was pale as the tiles on the floor, almost transparent in the neon lights. They opened a cage door, all while she screamed at them, shrieking insults that he didn’t know could come out of that young of mind, and at a volume that he didn’t know a body that small could create. 

 

The instant they released her to close the door to the room, she let out an incoherent roar of anger and punched the tallest, skinniest guy in the nose. 

 

There was a small crack, and the guy staggered back with a yelp of pain, hand to his face. The Parrot could already see the blood dripping out of it. The man looked up in shock, just in time to see the small girl shoot at him with a scream, tackling him over in a moment of surprise. The other three tried to get her off him, all while she was holding him down with her left hand on his throat, pressing down all her weight on his trachea and steadily beating him with the other arm, the small blue ring on her right hand tearing into his face. She brought her elbow into the equation a few times, small cracks echoing through her screams each time. By the time they finally pulled the skinny redhead off the 20-something, he was a bloody mess and she was trying to bite one of them, which she eventually succeeded in doing, drawing blood. 

 

They threw her into the cage, letting her skid on the tiles briefly before she got up and ran at the bars, crashing into them to spit more hatred at them as they drew their injured teammate back, away from the brutal teenager.

 

She sat there at the bars, knuckles bloody, screaming down the hall, daring them to ‘come back and fight like men who don’t have penises the size of a pencil lead.’ 

 

To be honest, the Parrot was amazed at her sheer skill at insults. She screamed until her voice broke, then she screamed more. 

 

Her absolute violence knew no bounds, even after she stopped screaming constantly. The man who brought her food was the only one she wasn't violent to. Whenever the doctors approached her at all, she responded with a swift, brutal attack. They didn’t get an assessment for 6 months because of that.

 

She was uncoordinated, untrained, but so brutally fast it didn’t matter. She was skilled in street fighting, and mean. Not cruel or enjoying the pain of others, just mean. 

 

It took them forever to get a physical, and longer to get a mental. They said she had ‘anger management issues.’ 

 

She told the one female doctor to ‘go fuck yourself with one of the pens, because that’ll be more satisfying to your poor husband! I bet he cheats on you with some slut twenty-something that spells her name ‘cinnamon with an s’! I hope he does, frankly, because she’d deserve more than you!’

 

The doctor later started crying in the break room.

 

When she was about eight and a half, she started interacting with those around her. 

 

Gave them names.

 

The Parrot, she called Thomas. 

 

A brutalized half tiger, she called Carrie. 

 

They had all forgotten their real names, sacrificing those for abilities and power beyond their dreams.

 

Until it had been lost.

 

Jack, Marie, Didanna, Danny, Max, Kayla.

 

Each one committed their new name to memory as closely as their subject names. 

 

At one point, Thomas asked her what her name was. She said it didn’t matter. She wasn’t as important as they were at that time.

 

Each time one of them died, she said some kind of poem for each.

 

“Marie. Strong, powerful and free. May she fly like a bird with you. Amen.”

 

The Parr- Thomas, as he was now called, remembered now that those were called prayers. 

 

So one day he asked her about them.

 

“I’m not overly religious, but yeah. No one deserves to find the void.” She gave a small smile, and kept them together. 

 

Even when they took her into the Black Box.

 

The Black Box was a torture room.

 

Where they cut you apart and turned you into something new. 

 

The first day they came for her she fought, brutally. They hit her until she went with them, snarling the whole time. If looks could kill, every guard in there would’ve been dead 16 times over. 

 

Every time they hit her, all the ones that she had named winced. They had been programmed to never show sympathy, but it was so hard seeing their little beacon get beaten. 

 

However, she never lost the spark in her eyes. 

 

She vanished into the black box for three days.

 

Most of the time, that was considered the death time. 

 

But then they took her back to her cage. 

 

And this time, when they took her back, she wasn’t fighting. But she was stiff as a board, hands locked in fists at her sides. When they got back to the room, the first thing she did was nail one in the nuts. While he collapsed to the floor, gasping and whimpering in shock, she screamed at him, telling him ‘you pussy-footed cuntsucker I didn’t even hit you that hard! Besides, I bet your balls haven’t even dropped yet you’re such a whiny bitch!’.

 

Thomas, as nice as she was to him and the other, could always forget how violent she could really be.

 

They, every few weeks, took her into the Black Box for a few days at a time, then returned her, where she would do something brutal to one of the guards (once she had ripped through the one guy’s trousers and grabbed his dick while the other guard was holding her arm, and told his buddy to ‘get the fuck off me or I rip off your pal’s penis off and beat you with it.’) and then stew for a few hours before talking to the other subjects.

 

Then one night, she vanished for 3 weeks. 

 

Thomas, Carrie and Max feared that she was really dead this time, but they refused to do a poem for her until her cage was filled. 

 

That’s when you knew a subject was dead. 

 

But her cage was never filled. 

 

And she returned after those three weeks. 

 

She returned slowly. Silently. 

 

Her lower body, waist down, had been sawn off, and replaced with a pair of scaled, clawed, double jointed legs and a tail. 

 

A dragon’s lower body.

 

The fire in her eyes was dead, gone as they sat her back down on the tile. 

 

She didn't do anything, she didn't say anything. 

 

They smirked. They had broken her.

 

They left that for two years. 

 

Now ten, she had spent two years in screaming agony, whimpering and crying, not talking, leaving the others to their own heads once again.

 

Then they took her again. 

 

This time, she was gone for 2 months. 

 

When she came back, there were a pair of grey dragon wings hanging off her shoulders, the semi-transparent membrane flickering between the thin finger bones that marked them apart. 

 

Thomas paid careful attention to her face and eyes… 

 

The spark was back. 

 

He leapt to his feet in surprise, staring at her. Instantly, the spark vanished, disappearing behind a… Cold… Mask…

 

She had mastered it. She had figured out the spark worked. 

 

How to master her resistance.

 

This time, they hadn’t expected her to retaliate.

 

A wing came up and clipped the one guy in the teeth before he crumpled like wet clay, a firm shove to the second guard’s ribs sending a rumbling set of cracks through his torso, throwing him into a wall, the third guy taking a set of claws to the face, through the face guard, shattering the thin grey bulletproof mask like it was paper. 

 

She smirked as he collapsed, clutching his face and screaming, the other two lying on the floor, one breathing raspily and the other bleeding from out of his mouth, where she had made him bite his own tongue.

 

Thomas watched her, amazed, as she stepped back into her cage and shut the door, sitting back. 

 

Her eyes held the knowledge of how to move, the love of her abilities, the hate of what was taken from her.

 

It was several years of training before she vanished again. 

 

When Thomas estimated that she was 15, she was taken from the cage for the last time, but under her own power.

 

She was taken from containment, a distinctive glint to her eyes, as they lead her to the Black Box.

 

Everything was silent for an hour, the peace settling over the dying forms of tortured creatures.

 

Then the door burst open.

 

It shot across the hall and slammed into the wall, cracking the concrete. Ash and smoke surrounded her, the only parts visible being the glowing, slitted teal eyes, shimmering wing membranes, and shiny tail spikes. 

 

The grey smog seemed to link to her body, tracing over her scales as she walked slowly from the room. 

 

Her hair fluttered softly behind her as she marched through the halls, bloody claws clicking on the tiles, leaving small paw prints of smeared gore in her wake. 

 

Most of the instinct-driven experiments shrank away from the bars of their cage, shrank away from the half-dragon who smelt and felt like an alpha.

 

Most of the more intelligent ones still shifted away from the hall slightly as well, not wanting to be in her way, even if they were safely behind bars.

 

‘Safely’ was a useless term in this case, however, since they had all just watched, and those that hadn’t seen, heard, her kick down a solid metal door, hard enough to crack concrete and warp the door.

 

Some of them, Thomas, Carrie and Max in particular, leaned a little closer to the bars, wanting to see the only friend they ever had. 

 

Until the alarms went off.

 

Ghost shot into action, lunging for Max’s cage first. By now, most of the intelligent ones had gotten over their fear, screaming at her ‘Run run go!’ They shouted, the cacophony of wingbeats and squawks and roars and howls lapping over eachother in complete chaos.

 

The others wanted her to leave for one reason; If she escaped successfully, then it meant they could too. 

 

Thomas shot to his feet. “Ghost go! Run!” He waved down the hall as guards appeared. Ghost’s wings spread defensively on either side of her body, a cold snarl slowly rising in her throat. Her lips peeled back to reveal the inhuman fangs within her jaw, tail lashing behind her as she spread her stance, claws appearing on her fingers. 

 

She turned to face Thomas, just briefly. 

 

“...My name, since you asked for it earlier…” She hissed. “It is Raven.” She smirked vaguely, before shooting at the guards with a ear-splitting shriek.

 

Normally, all sorts of body fluid was on the floor, but today, the blood that leaked through the lines between the tiles wasn’t theirs. 

 

And the clicking down the hall wasn’t a doctor’s footsteps. 

 

She continued down the hall, looking over her shoulder at the faces watching her go. They weren't regretful, they were happy. Watching her in joy. If she was getting out, so could they.

 

Then she turned the corner, and vanished.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

“...After that, they upped the defence. Made sure we were in more pain. Banned talking to the others.” Thomas laughed sadly. “And they shot any who thought of resistance in the stomach with a shotgun. Bleed out was slow, if you even died. Other than that, you were given a few months with a brutal infection.” He rubbed his belly. “Lucky for me, I was pretty quick back in my day. I healed from the injury. Dug out the bullets myself.” He looked down at 18 small, round scars on his gut.

 

“So, you have no idea where she went?” Robin asked slowly.

 

“None. I just know what happened to her.” Thomas sighed. “But she shouldn’t come back. If she’s that stupid, she’s just gonna get herself killed.” He looked at them sadly. 

 

“...Thank you.” Robin placed the pill on the ground, between the bars, before sliding it into the cage.

 

“Glad I could be of use for once.” He smiled, creeping forward to take it. “You wanna see more stuff? The Black Box is over there, and Max’s cell is 3B.” He pointed down the left hall, then turned around, leaning against the wall. “...Have a good night.” He whispered, then stopped moving, staring at the pill instead. 

 

“...You too.” Robin whispered, then all three of them turned down the left hall, creeping away from the cage which had held Raven’s friend. 

 

It didn’t take them long to spot the Black Box. A huge, black iron door, with an…

 

“Robin?” Wally said quietly. “Y-you might wanna check this out…” He whispered in slight fear.

 

On the wall in front of where the door was, a 4 foot wide circular crack spread out on the grey concrete, metal shards still embedded into the spaces of the man made rock. 

 

“D-did she…” Whispered Megan.

 

Robin ran his hand over the dented crack. “I think this is it. This is how she escaped.” He examined it carefully. “Without a fuck given.”

 

_ We’ve been compromised!  _ The cry rang out in their head, belonging to Artemis. All three of them jumped and whipped around for the source, until realizing that it was in their heads. 

 

_ What happened? _ Robin replied, waving for the team to follow him as he raced back for the elevator, doing their best not to step in viscera.

 

_ One of their experiments could hear our thought conversation! _ Artemis responded, sounding vaguely panicked.

 

Wally’s eyes looked like dinner plates for a second, as did M’gann’s. 

 

“...Shit.” Robin breathed. 

 

Then the lights went blaring. Instantly, the tormented screams of hypersensitive people reached their ears, mixing with the general chaos as guards, dozens and dozens of guards poured out of the side doors.

 

They sprinted for the three YJ members, looking furious in their dark masks and long weapons.

 

Then something blew off the locks to four of the cages. 

 

A girl with a white tiger’s lower limbs shot from one of them, tail lashing as she roared, launching for the nearest guard, his energy ripped from his body in a single stroke of claws. 

 

The guards looked shocked, going to raise their guns, when a massive, lumbering griffon-girl staggered from the second cage. She gave a maniacal laugh, lunging for them with unholy speed, ripping through kevlar like it was nothing. 

 

Thomas shoved out of his cage, hard jaw and unique, beaklike teeth opened in a scream, his claws slicing into flesh at every turn and twist. 

 

Then the other set of guards, behind the rest, raised their guns, going to pull the trigger. M’gann lunged forward to turn her friends intangible and save them from the bullets, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to do it for long, when the hallway lit up like the sun, tormented screams reaching their ears like a symphony of destruction. All three looked away from the searing light, but when they turned back, a boy stood in front. 

 

He couldn’t’ve been more than 10, looking back at them with pained, neon orange eyes, his blond hair fluttering in the updraft of the heat. Skin burns lay all across his small body, mostly hidden under poorly wrapped bandages, bags under his eyes… but his eyes held a spark, a kindling of life. Flames licked his fingertips, but didnt seem to harm him. Flames spread from the crest of orange and red feathers under his wrists, consuming all before him.

 

“Go.” He whispered, in a voice full of water. Robin shook off his shock and raced down the hall to the elevator, dragging Wally and M’gann. 

 

Behind them, the four experiments were slowly surrounded, even as they got back to back.

 

“Well, nice to finally see all of you!” Thomas yelled, getting into a fighting stance. “Name’s Thomas, the guy who blew off your cages!” He grinned.

 

“Well, it’s great to see you too!” The tiger roared. “I’m Carrie! Good to put a face to a name and voice!” She smiled brightly, spreading her legs slightly for launch. 

 

“Heh… Kayla. That’s what she called me… So I guess it’s my name.” The griffon took off with two quick flaps, hovering off the ground. 

 

“My name is Max.” The kid smirked, flames gathering in his palms. “And my world is fire and death.” He purred icily.

 

“We should have a code name, what d’ya think?” Thomas glanced back a little.

 

“The Amalgamate!” Max suggested. 

 

“Yeah, I like that!” Carrie purred. 

 

“Sounds ok…” Kayla gave the smallest smile.

 

“Amalgamate it is!” Thomas called. “Amalgamates, attack!” He shouted, and all four of them launched into their first, and last, fight as a team.

 

Robin and the others raced down the hall, heading for the elevator as fast as they could. “C’mon guys, there’s no way they can hold off forever!” He shouted, dragging a shocked KF along. M’gann was already by the elevator. Wally finally snapped out of it, shaking his head quickly, getting into the elevator and pressing the button. The instant it opened to the top floor, they shot out, heading for the exit. 

 

The fleeing team raced for the Bio-ship, quickly piling inside as M’gann pulled away, racing for Mt. Justice as fast as possible.

 


	2. Investigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin goes to check out the lab...
> 
> But this time, he won't know how to get out.

A dark shadow sat on the fence that surrounded Zenax, a genetic research lab. 

 

_ And torture base… _ Robin thought angrily, brooding over the memories of their attack two weeks ago.

 

That had been a disaster, getting back.

 

The instant they were home, Wally vanished into the bathroom, why, he didn’t say, but if the repeated sound of retching and dry-heaving was anything to compare, he was very, violently disturbed. 

 

M’gann sat by the side, head in her hands, staring at the floor. Robin sat on the couch, slumped to the side and hunched, too mentally exhausted to care, as he went through the pictures he took. 

 

They were all there. More than enough evidence to shatter Zenax. 

 

Batman, Flash and Martian Manhunter were coming in under an hour to see what they discovered. While they were concerned, they did have a job to do, so while Artemis, Aqualad, Superboy and Red Arrow put together their report, Miss Martian stared at the floor, wondering who would do such a thing to anyone, Kid Flash heaved out whatever his exhausted stomach could bring up, having thrown up so many times that his heart burned and his stomach ached, tears running down his face, Robin on the couch, emotionally dead, flipping through the pictures, over, and over, and over. 

 

_ How did those four get ou-... _ He paused that thought.  _ The cyanide pill. Thomas used it to make an explosive to break their locks.  _ Robin shook his head briefly, continually going through the same 48 pictures, over and over. 

 

The computer announced the arrival of the three League leaders, drawing M’gann, head down and hood up to the one side of the screen, Robin a close follow, moving robotically, and a extremely shaky Wally, looking as green as M’gann, a hand pressed to his stomach. 

 

Team A gave their report, but not before shooting concerned looks at their teammates. Their report was professional, logged, and efficient. 

 

Then it was Team B’s turn.

 

Robin stepped forward slowly, locking his camera into a link cord with shaking hands, then making the screen go black. “S-sorry we didn’t really… prepare.” He said quietly, slowly, fearfully.

 

Batman’s eyes narrowed, and Flash looked confused. J’hon was still staring at M’gann worriedly.

 

“T-there isn-isn’t much I c-can say at this time…” Robin, amazingly, sounded on the verge of tears. “J-just… It’d be e-easier to show you.” He shrunk down, sinking his neck into his shoulders. The rest of the people in the room did a double take. It was so easy to forget that Robin was actually just a kid. A small, skinny kid. 

 

He certainly looked it at that second.

 

Then he pressed the ‘on’ button.

 

The first picture was of the first hallway. Relatively clean, but still messy, little rivulets of blood leaking down the tiles. 

 

Maybe three pictures of suspicious doors.

 

Then came hallway 2A.

 

The instant the first image came on, everyone cringed, excluding Batman. When the second appeared, Artemis choked and twisted away, eyes squeezed shut. Flash even took a hard swallow. 

 

As they progressively got worse and worse, more and more of the YJ looked away in horror, all with the collective feeling that they subjected a teammate to seeing this live. 

 

At picture 32, a pair of twins, one dead with his guts all over the floor and the other… feeding off him, Flash turned away with a  _ hurk _ noise. At picture 43, Manhunter turned to look anywhere else. At picture 48, Batman said ‘Turn it off.’ In the same cold monotone he always had, however, it was a little softer. 

 

“Th-that’s all there is anyway…” Robin stuttered, trailing off. 

 

The screen shut down with a happy beep, the images it had formerly presented seared into the brains of everyone present. 

 

“...But I did get this.” Robin placed the recorder into the player, the screen loading the medium-quality image of… A teenager with bird feet, tail, and broken feathers. 

 

_ “Talk.” _ Robin’s computer voice sounded demanding, and the bird-boy laughed softly. 

 

_ “So impatient. But alright. I'll start.” _ He shrugged, feathers fluttering around his gaunt form.

 

_ “She was seven when she came. Nearly eight.” _

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

The team had sat through 20 minutes of the bird-teen’s story, listening intently. When the boy was done, Robin handed him something small, white, right before the video ended.

 

“Did you… give him a cyanide pill??” Artemis demanded in shock. 

 

“Yeah, but he didn’t use it to die. He must’ve mixed it with some kind of chemical he made with the stuff on the floor because he and three others helped us escape.”

 

Now, Robin sat on the edge of the lab where he had nearly died a few weeks ago. He wanted answers.

 

Sneaking into that facility the second time was definitly easier, not having to wait for orders or teammates, before slipping inside. This time, he avoided floor X entirely, opting for one of the lower floors, Y. 

 

There was a small database in Y, which was easy to hack and download, which lead him to the next level. 

 

Z level.

 

Z, according to the labels, was a training facility and computer base, but Robin had to investigate. 

 

The lights were dim, smog drifting in a small wave over the lower 2 feet of the maze he now stood in.

 

“There’s gotta be the computer database here somewhere…” He grumbled to himself, looking around for the hundredth time. He had been here for nearly half an hour, where was anyth-

 

A black shape whizzed through the fog. Robin froze.

 

_ This was a mistake. I shouldn’t be here. I should go. Oh fuck something’s gonna kill m- _ His thought train was cut off as a hit, like a punch from Superman, blasted through his stomach. Robin let out a startled gasp, collapsing to his knees, feeling something warm and wet spread from a wound in his lower torso.

 

A pin, like an extra large porcupine quill, had shot through his stomach, leaving a small hole. 

 

Robin tried to focus through the shock, as red eyes appeared in the mist, aproaching slowly.  _ N-no, I-I c-can’t sleep… _ He felt his body get shaky, threatening to fall.  _ Th-that quill was poisonous… _ He thought, falling to his side. A girl, body curved upward like a hunch on her shoulders, had spikes all over her arms and back, a mane almost. Her cobra-like, snake tail lashed behind her as she aproached with a small hiss. 

 

Robin tried to raise his head, to fight, to move at all, but nothing was working, and consciousness was fading.

 

_...So this is the end… of… robin… _ He thought in a whisper. 

 

Then, out of nowhere, a terrifying roar reached his tired ears, the fog around him swirling up in eddies and waves, blown by some turbulent force. The porcupine/cobra girl looked up in dead terror, as a pair of scaled, three-clawed feet landed on either side of his body. 

 

The last thing Robin remembered seeing was a pair of neon teal, slitted eyes.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

He woke up slowly, head throbbing like a hangover. The world was glassy and indistinct, his point of vision tilting as his world wobbled like a top.

 

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” A voice, half purred human and half deep, rumbling growl, called from the side. 

 

Gingerly, Robin raised his head, only to wince when he pulled the hole in his lower center.

 

“Ow…” He hissed. “Definitely not feeling the aster…” The second part was mostly to himself, but the person huffed in amusement.

 

“Yeah, don’t pull it too much. I managed to clean up the outside, and it missed major organs, but it's still pretty nasty, and you’ll want stitches.” The voice rowled again, and Robin turned to see who its owner was. 

 

A girl, grey-red (if that was its real color) hair caked with dirt, cut with a fringe messy to the right, and tied back in a ponytail sat by the side. She was wrapped up neatly in a transparent teal blanket with grey ‘fingers’ that held it steady. Her tail wrapped around her strangely shaped, double jointed, scal-  _ Wait a second. _

 

Robin shot upright, realizing everything that was wrong with his rescuer. Then, instantly he sank back down, groaning. He pressed a hand to the hole in his torso, vision tipping off balance as the poison’s after-effects still attacked him.

 

“Whoa whoa hey lay back.” The girl insisted, helping him settle back down.

 

“Y-you’re… where am I?” He asked, looking up at the grey-green corrugated metal ceiling. 

 

“Inside a storage shed on the warf. The only place I thought to take you.” She looked side to side, white-slitted teal eyes flicking about the warehouse. “How do you feel?”

 

“Like shit.” Robin groaned.

 

“Well, you did get hit with enough toxins to knock someone out for a week.” She hissed low. “You’re lucky you bled it out a bit.”

 

Robin stared at her. Something was… “...You’re Raven, aren’t you.” He whispered.

 

She seemed taken aback, blinking in surprise. “I-I mean, yes…” She looked to the side. “Although, I go by ‘Ghost’. Wait, how do you know me?” She glared at him, teal eyes shining in fear and anger.

 

“I was asked… to find you… but then I wondered if something was up with Zenax… so we went as two teams to invest...igate…” Robin whimpered, fading fast. 

 

“...It’s alright if you pass out. I won’t mind.” She purred, sounding a little gentler now.

 

Right before Robin passed out, he wondered how the hell she sounded just as dark as Batman.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

He woke up several hours later in a soft jacket, with wind blowing all around him. The second thing that he noticed was how his hands were in fuzzy gloves, and his arms couldn’t move much.

 

He blinked, looking around, still pretty groggy from the poison. 

 

Looking through teal glass, he noticed something. First off, it was night. Late, by the looks of it. He was some several hundred feet of the ground, with the plains of choppy water below him whipping by, and he wasn’t inside a plane.

 

Robin screamed in drugged, dazed terror, realizing that he also couldn’t move his legs much either. 

 

“Hey, Jesus Christ, calm down!” A cold, commanding voice jolted him out of his panic, making him look up. Carefully, his eyes traced the grey, fingerlike structures that made up the framework for the teal ‘glass’, actually a membrane, that stretched from her shoulders to a good 9 feet on either side. Every so often, they would flap in a massive sweeping motion, keeping them moving forward.

 

“...S-sorry…” Robin muttered sheepishly. “T-the poison…”

 

“Fucking with your head, I get it.” She responded over the wind, modulating ther voice for human hearing at this speed. 

 

“Where’re we goin’?” Robin asked much too fast and much too whimpery. The poison was taking a serious toll on the small boy’s body. 

 

“Mount Justice.” She replied. “I had to tape you to my back, under my shirt, sorry.” She shook her head with a huff. “No other way to carry you.” 

 

“‘S’kay…” Robin mumbled, letting his head fall back between her dual sets of shoulder blade and the thick, heavy muscle cushion his throbbing headache. The beats of her wings were almost hypnotic, beat beat hold… beat beat hold… beat beat hold, over and over.

 

It went on like that for several hours, until he heard a faint voice in his ear. 

 

“...awk Wom… uniden…object ove...city, ta...it down.” The voice sounded suspiciously like Batman’s.

 

“Shit.” Robin whispered, realizing slowly they were talking about him and Raven.

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked. 

 

“I got a transmission… I think Batman just told Halk Woman to shoot us down.” He whispered, unable to be much help in this state.

 

“Fuc- ok, ok, goddamn…” She snarled, wingbeats faltering for a brief second. “Robin, listen, please. Hold on tight, and don’t move. Don’t shift, don’t hug tighter, just stay still, like you are now, ok?” She asked, sounding angry. She glanced back, over her shoulder.

 

Robin bounced his fists on her neck. “...Ok…”

 

“I’ll get you home safe.” She promised, just as a familiar flash of white flickered behind them. “Hang on tight, Robin!” She told him, snapping in her wings into her sides, rolling to her left in a tight barrel roll. She spun over and over, vanishing between two buildings. 

 

She reopened her wings over the street, having to pull her feet away from their flight position to repeatedly kick off a building to the side without breaking the glass, pushing herself back into the center of the street. Screams called behind them as Shyera appeared with a roar, wielding her mace. 

 

“Oh, ok…” Raven purred. “Another winged person.” She laughed with a quick check over her shoulder. “How low ya willing to go?” She howled, plunging for the road with the oncoming cars. She stayed within an amazing two feet of the concrete, rolling and diving between cars before they could hit her or Robin. Robin had his eyes squeezed shut, every fiber of his being focusing on not barfing and not passing out.

 

There were a few honks around them, but mostly behind, since Shyera was having issues flying through this traffic. Raven, meanwhile, showed no issue until they got on open road, when Shyera was definetly as fast as they were. 

 

Raven searched around, looking rapidly for an escape. Robin raised his head just to see where they were going.

 

The only thing around happened to be a subway tunnel.

 

“So, you can keep up, huh?” Raven called behind her.

 

“Nonono…” Robin whispered. 

 

“That’s great!” The teen half-dragon focused, preparing for entry.

 

“Raven please you’ll hurt yourself.” Robin pleaded.

 

“Let’s see how much you can keep up.” She purred in an elegant whisper, aiming dead on for the tunnel.

 

“NOOOO!” Screamed Robin as she snapped her wings to her sides, falling into the thin staircase and diving through it, eventually reaching the subway station, where she flared her wings, leaned back, and drove claws into tile. 

 

_ Ding. _ “Train number 5 will not be stopping at S. Lee Station for technical issues.” A mechanical announcer provided. No one was paying attention, however, as a half dragon female had just appeared from their stairway. 

 

Outside, they could hear the furious roar of an enraged hawk, right before something stomping down the stairs. Raven made a ‘yeet’ noise between her teeth, whipping around and diving into the left subway tunnel. 

 

The number one thing she seemed to have forgotten, however, was that subways come from these tunnels. 

 

Her wingbeats were painful, moving in a tight-knit undulation pattern, flapping endlessly, which was not a thing she was supposed to do. Then a light appeared at the end of the tunnel, rapidly aproaching. 

 

“Huh…” Raven said slowly, Robin peeking over her shoulder. “Wonder what that is…” She stared at it hard, then it hit them;

 

“TRRAAAIIIN!!!” They both screamed at the same time, Raven sprinting to take off, whipping her wings, bringing both of them into the air and barely 5 feet from the racing mechanical train. 

 

The grey-black-teal blur  _ whoosh _ ed past a stunned Shyera, who swore she saw Robin clinging to it’s back as they screamed past the station. 

 

Raven was working overtime, chest heaving as she did the same awkward wing-beat thing to fly in small areas. She raced around the turns, knowing full well that if she fucked us for even a second, her passenger was dead. And she made him a damn promise. 

 

“Just… three… more… seconds!” She grunted determinedly, seeing the tunnel come above ground. With one final, triumphant roar and wingbeat, she emerged into the sky, extending the membranes to reach full wingspan. 

 

She panted, looking at the tunnel she had just escaped, then the sky behind. She had been flying so fast she hadn’t realized how far she had come, nearly halfway across the city, far closer to her destination than previously planned. 

 

“Whoof…” She let out a long breath, then turned to view her cargo. 

 

Robin had passed out on the last turn, the even slight g-forces becoming too much for the poisoned teenager. Raven sighed, shook her head, and continued slowly for the mountain.

 

In the other half of the city, Hawkgirl flew around, desperately trying to figure out which way the thing had gone in the maze that was the public transit system. 

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

Aqualad, who had stayed over because Robin vanished, woke up in the middle of the night to a Zeta tube opening. He nuzzled back into his bed, opting to ignore it.

 

_ Robin, B-0-2. _ The mechanical female voice coolly announced. 

 

Instantly, Kaldur was on his feet, shooting for the door of his room. After just about tearing it off the hinges, he shot for the Zeta tubes.

 

“Robin?” He asked, looking around frantically.

 

“Over here…” Robin called raspily. The boy wonder was curled into a ball in a thick black sweater with a dragon’s head on the back, still in costume. He was breathing heavily, bright red and sweating. Either he was ill, or poisoned. 

 

Kaldur was just contemplating what to do (other than get him to the infirmary) and who to call (at 4 in the morning) when Conner appeared out of nowhere.

 

“Kaldur, wha-” He began, then noticed the shaking Robin. Within the same second, he was at their sides. “What do you need me to do?” He asked the Atlantian, who looked around quickly. 

 

“Wake the others and call Batman and Black Canary.” Kaldur responed. Conner nodded with a forceful  _ hm _ , and shot down the hall with every inch of kryptonian speed. 

 

It was about three minutes before the others appeared, still in pajamas and blinking sleep from their eyes, but awake.

 

Conner quickly took Robin to the infirmary while Kaldur called Batman (he was the only one brave enough to do it.) and Black Canary, who arrived not ten minutes later. 

 

Some evaluation of Robin’s condition told them a few things; This was a concentrated form of porcupine poison, he had a hole in his stomach, and he was going to be fine.

 

It took the exhausted vigilante three days to wake up, at which he was basically hug-tackled by his whole team.

 

“Oh my god where did yo-?”

 

“You vanished for three days, fri-”

 

“Good to have you ba-”

 

_ NEVER do that again! _

 

Their voices overlapped in a glorious cacophony of chaos, until Batman silenced them.

 

“Robin, how did you get a 1 centimeter hole through your stomach.” It was a statement, question, rebuke and insult all at once. Robin cringed.

 

“I umm… well… um…” His voice faded off as he glanced at the floor.

 

“Robin.” Batman growled.

 

“...I went to continue investigating Zenax and got shot by a porcupine-cobra in a maze?” He suggested.

 

Silence.

 

“...Aw man, you had the coolest weekend!” Wally whined, looking at the ceiling.

 

“How did you escape?” Artemis asked. 

 

“I didn’t, really… I found Raven. And well… she’s rather nice.” He shrugged, looking helpless.

 

Instantly the room burst into exclamations of confusion and amazement.

 

“Well… she showed up, and kinda saved my ass. I got a quill through the stomach and she dragged me out, then flew me back here.” Robin made a small gesture with his hands.

 

“Wait… Did she happen to go through the… Subway tunnels?” Artemis asked slowly. 

 

“...I think that happened…” Robin replied carefully, speech at a snail’s pace.

 

“Oh. My. God. Dude.” Wally stepped forward. “You two were on the news!” He shouted in joy. 

 

Instantly, the TV was on, playing the recorded Today show.

 

“In other news,” The anchor began. “We had live feed earlier of a brutal chase between what appeared to be Hawkgirl and a second, far faster and highly skilled winged opponent, who vanished in the LRT before she could be apprehended.”

 

The image switched to a scene of a winged dragon girl, carrying a black object that was taped to her, swirl out of nowhere, open it’s wings and kick carefully off a building, while Hawkgirl mistimed her turn and crashed into the building. It took her all of a second to escape, but then the dragon creature dove to the road, squirming between the cars with perfection and ease. Hawkgirl didn’t dive to attack her. The final feed was when the dragon vanished into the Subway tunnel and Hawkgirl screamed angrily at her before following into the tunnel. 

 

Robin facepalmed, the whole of the fight flooding back to him.

 

“Oh. Right. Yeah… Yeah that was us.” He sighed, head in his hands. “...That was us.” He repeated.

 

The room descended into chaotic laughter.


End file.
